Kafir-corn header.



c. WOODALL KAFIR CORN HEADER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22, I914- 1 11 ?2 I Patented June 1, 1915.

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ami macaw sa MM C. WOODALL.

KAFIR CORN HEADER.

APPLICATION FILED ocnzz. 1914.

Patented June 1, 1915.

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KAFIR CORN HEADER. APPLICATION FILED on. 22. 1914.

Patented June 1, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

C. WOODALL. KAFIR CORN HEADER. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22, I914.

Patented June 1, 19150 5 SHEETS-SHEET 4- RN. W @wwm m N QM \m wi/hwoowC. WOODALL. KAFIR CORN HEADER. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22, I914.

Patented June 1, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

witneooeo CLAUDE WOODALL, OF SUPPLY, OKLAHOMA.

KAFIR-CORN HEADER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented June 1, 1915.

Application filed October 22, 1914. serial 210. 868,047.

To all uihom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, CLAUDE WoouALn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Supply, in the county of Woodward and State of Oklahoma,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Kafir Corn Headers;and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates broadly toimprovements in agricultural implementsand specifically to Kafir corn headers.

The main object of the invention is to provide an extremely simplemachine of this character which will be highly efficient in itsoperation.

To the above end, a further object be comes to simplify the framestructure of devices of this character to such an extent as to eliminateall unnecessary details.

Yet another object is to provide pairs of cone'sh-a'ped shields risingfrom pairs of cutting disks, and to equip. said shields with arms whichretain the severed heads of the plantsin upright position until they aredropped upon a conveyer. The provision of the shields and the armsthereon therefore prevents the heads from being beaten to such an extentas to cause a number of the seeds therein to be lost. I g

A still further object is to provide simple structure whereby cuttingmechanism employed at one side of the machine may be moved toward andawav from similar mecl ,anism employed at the other side, therebyrendering the machine applicable for cuttin rows spaced at variousdistances.

t iththe above and minor objects in View, the invention resides incertain novel features of construction and combination here in describedand claimed and shown in the drawings wherein Figure 1 is a plan view ofa machine constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is aside view thereof on a reduced scale; Fig. S is a verticallon itudinal section as seen on the line 3-3 o Fig. 1; ,Fig.' 4 is afront end view of a portion of the machine; Figs. 5, 6 and 7 arehorizontal sectionsas seen on the lines 5-5, ft-6 and 7-7 of Fig. i;Fig. 8 is an enlarged view similar to Fig. 4, with parts broken away andin section; Fig. 9 is a detail vertical section as seenon the line 9-9of Fig. 8; Fig.

10 is a transverse section taken along the 1 plane of the line 10-10 ofFig. 1; Fig. 11 is adetail longitudinal section as seen on the l ne11-11 of Fig. 1; Fig. 12 is a similar view taken substantially upon theplane of the line 1212 of Fig. 1; Fig. 13 is a front elevation of aportion of the delivery conveyer; and Fi 14 is a vertical transversesection thereof as seen on the line 14-14 of Fig. 13.

- In the accompanying drawings (see more particularly Figs. 1, 2 and 3),the numeral 1 designates a longitudinal tongue whose forward end issecured by any appropriate means to a transverse axle 2 Whose oppositeends are provided with s indles upon which the drive wheel 3 and asupporting wheel 4 are revolubly mounted, said tongue being preferablybraced, in respect to the axle, by

means indicated at 5 or b" the equivalentthereof.

Secured to one side of the tongue 1 by any appropriate means, andpreferably surrounding theintermedi ate portion of the wheel 3, is arectangular frame 6 to whose rear outer corner a bracket 7 is secured,said bracket carrying a bearing 8 in which a transverse shaft 9' ismounted and a pair of brackets 10 in which a longitudinal shaft 11 issupported. The shaft 9 is supported, at its inner end, .by-a secondbearing 12 and carries a gear 13 on said inner end while its outer endis equipped with a comparatively large bevel gear 14, said gear 13 beingconnected by a chain'lfii to a driving gear 16 which rotates with thedrive wheel 3.

The forwardend of the shaft 11 is connected by a universal joint 17 to alongitudinal forwardly extending shaft 18 which is preferably squaredthroughout its length and Whose forward end slides within a sleeve beingpreferably formedv of channel iron bars as clearly seen in the variousfigures of the drawings. By reference, more particularly to Fig. 12, itwill be seen that the shaft 21 passes revolubly through open ings in thebars26 and 27 and carries a beveled pinion 28 on its forward end, saidpinion meshing with a bevel gear 29 on a revolubly mounted stub shaft30, the latter carrying 'a sprocket gear 31, which through theyinstrumentality ofa sprocket chain 32, drives a second sprocket gear 33which is keyed on a transverse shaft 34 which isspaced above the frontbar 27 and upheld in a manner to be set. forth. I I

As most clearly indicated in Fig. 10, the opposite ends of the bars 26and 27 are connected by transverse bars 35, while the intermediateportions of said bars-are p150- vided with angle iron rails'37 uponwhich the upper stretch of an endless conveyer 38 travels, said conveyerpassing over a roller 39 which rotates with the shaft 21 and over asecond roller 40 at the opposite end of the frame, as shown.

The left ends of the bars 26 and 27 are provided with depending bearings41 (see Fig. 4), said bearings revolubly supporting a longitudinal shaft42 upon which a roller 43 is keyed,-said shaft being driven through Ithe instrumentality of a sprocket chain 44 50m the shaft 21 (see moreparticularly Pivotally supported by'the shaft 42, isthe inner end of anupwardly and outwardly inclining conveyer 45 which is preferablyconstructed as seen in Figs. 13 and 14, this construction including apair of spaced upwardly and outwardly incliningside walls 46 which areconnected at intervals by transverse bars 47 whose ends are preferablyturned upwardly and secured to said sides 46. Secured to the inner facesof the walls 46, are angle iron brackets 46 upon which the upwardstretch of an endless conveyer 48 travels, said conveyer passing overthe roller 43 and over a similar roller 49 at the upper end of theconveyer, which upper 'end may be supported by. a bail 50 securedthereto and by a cable 51 which may lead from the bail to anappropriateopart of the machine.

The carrier or conveyer 45-is designed to have its outer end positionedabove the bed:

B of a wagon WV which may be driven along the side of the headingmachine. It therefore becomes expedient to providesaid conveyer with apair of rollers 52 on its lower corners which are designed tocontactwith said bed as seen in Fig. 13, thereby preventing mutilation of thecarrier in case the wagon and the harvesting machine do not move at thesame speed.

Rising from the left hand end of the front bar 27 is a pair of uprightbrackets 53 which are secured to said end and which carrybearingsprovided with bushings through which the left end of the shaft 34passes,

the right end thereof passing through simiinto contact with the inneredge of the upper' flange on said bar 27.

Each bracket 53' is provided with a depending bearing 57 which is spacedfor- Wardly from the bar 27, said bearings being mounted to slide upon ahollow transverse track 58 whose opposite ends are "secured by brackets59 to said bar. Passing through the hollow shaft '58, is a flexibleoperating element 60, here shown in the form of-a chain which passesover a guide wheel 61 at the right side of the machine and over a secondguide wheel 62 near .the left side thereof, the last named wheel beingkeyed onalongitudinal shaft 63 which passes rev-- olubly through thebars 26. and 27 and carries a beveled pinion 64 on its rear end. Thepinion 64 meshes with a segmental rack 65 which is supported, tooscillate upon a bracket 66 which extends rearwardly. from the bar 26,and is provided with an operating arm to which a rearwardly extendingrod 67 is pivoted, said rod having its rearend pivoted to an upright'lever 68 mounted on the rear end of the tongue 1, which end issupported by a combined supporting and steering wheel 69 which may beturned by a steering handle 70. By this construction, it will be seenthat movement of the lever 68 will, through the instrumentalitv of therack 65 and gear 62,move the chain 60,

the ends of this chain being connected by adjusting bolts 71 to theopposite ends of the carriage 55, whereby said-carriage will be adjustedtoward .or away from the brackets 53, as desired, it being understoodthat the shaft 34 is not shifted during this movement, but that thebushings. 54 slide thereon.

Rising from the brackets 53 and 53 are upright spindles 72 whichrevolubly support bevel gears 7 3, the latter-meshing with similarlyshaped pinions 74 which rotate with the shaft 34. Secured to the uppersides of the gears 73', are cuttingdisks or rings 75 Whose edges overlapand are sharpened as clearly shown, while rising from the rings 75 arehollow cone shaped feed members or shields 7 6 whose upper ends areprovided with. bearings which rotate upon the spindles 72. These shieldsmay be secured to the rings in any suitable manner,

but a plurality ofL -shaped brackets 77 are mamas preferably employedfor this purpose. Radiating from the upper ends of the shields 76, areinter'meshing series of arms or blades 78 which operate ina manner to bedescribed.

j The rear sides of the shields 76 are here shown as surrounded byguards 79 having laterally bulged lower ends 80 which guard the activeedges of the rings 75, said guards serving to cause the heads, severedfrom the plants, to fall from the cutters 'onto the conveyer 38 whichmoves in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, thereby depositing theheads or tassels onto the second conveyor 48 which discharges the sameinto the wagon bed B. i Although any appropriate means could be providedfor raising and lowering the frame upon which the conveyer 38 ismounted, certain of the bearings 25 are shown as provided withanti-friction rollers 81 beneath which the curved ends of a pair ofparallel arms 82 project, the rear ends of said arms being rigidlymounted upon a transverse rock shaft 83 which is mounted in bearingsupon the axle 2 and which is provided with an operating arm 84 fromwhich an operating link 85 projects rearwardly to an operating lever 86located adjacent the lever 68. It will be understood that actuation ofthis lever 86 in the proper direction,- will raise the arms 82 t erebyraising the bearings 25 and all parts suported thereby. During thisraising and owering movement, the squared shaft 18 slides within thesleeve 19, whereby, no matter at what height the frame be adjusted,

the conveyer therein and the various shafts mounted thereon, will alwaysbe driven as the machine is propelled forwardly.

- Since there is considerable weight to be raised by the arms 82, acoiled spring 87 1s preferably employed to assist in rocking the shaft83 in the direction to raise said arms, one end of said spring beinghere shown as connected to the arm 84 while the rear end which rises.from the tongue 1.

' From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing's, it will be seen that a comparatively simplemachine has been provided for carrying out the objects of the invention,yetthat such a machine will possess a number of advantageous features tobe more clearly pointed out in the following explanation.

I With the parts constructed and arranged as above described and asshown-in" the drawings, the entire machine is propelled by the arrows inFig. 1, support the tops of the heads of said plants, said heads beingapron-now lifting said heads and depositing them into the wagon bed.

During the operation of the machine, should it be necessary to adjustthe cutting mechanism at the right side of the machine toward or awayfrom that at the left hand side of the machine, this may be readily doneby proper. manipulation of the lever 68, which lever operates theconstruction hereinbefore described to shift the carriage uphn the bar27.

l have described the invention with considerable detail and have setforth certain specific formations for carrying out the objects of theinvention, but it will be understood that numerous changes, regardingminor details of construction, may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention asclaimed.

In addition -to the features above described, an upright guard or shield90 is preferably provided, said guard rising from the rear side of thevertically adjustable conveyer frame as seen in Figs. 2, 3, and 10 1claim:

1. A corn header including a transverse track, a carriage slidablethereon, a cutting mechanism mounted on said carriage, guides near theopposite ends of the track, a flexible operating element passing aroundsaid guides and connected to the carriage, and means whereby saidelement may be moved around said guides to adjust the carriage on thetrack, combined with means independent of saidfiexible element, foroperating said mechanism. thereof is adjustably secured to a bracket 88I 2. A corn header including a transverse track, a carriage shdablethereon, a cutting mechanism mounted on said carr1age,a guide wheel nearone end of the track, a guide near the other end thereof,'-a flexibleoperating element passing around said guide and said wheel and securedto the carriage, and means whereby said ide wheel may be rotated ineither direction to adjust the carriage on the track, combined withmeans independent of the flexible element, for actuating the cuttingmechanism.

3. A com header comprising a transverse track, .a carriage slidablethereon, cutting mechanism on said carriage, a hollow track spaced fromthe first named track, a bearing on the carriage and slidably mounted onthe hollow track, guides near the ends of the first track, a flexibleoperating element passing eluding an upright plate contacting with oneside of the track, and a flange projecting laterally from the upper edgeof said plate and overlying said track, the other edge of saidflange',being turned downwardly into contact with the other side of thetrack, cutting'mechanism mounted on the carriage, a second track spacedfrom the first named track, and a bearing on the carriage and slidablymounted on the second track.

5. A Kafir corn header comprising a pair of parallel tracks spaced onefrom the other, a carriage plate having a hooked-shaped upper edgeslidably and removably disposed on one of said tracks, and having aguide slidably engaging the other track, combined with cutting meanscarried by the carriage plate, and'means to adjust the latterlongitudinally in respect to the tracks.

6. A Kafir corn header comprising a pair of parallel tiacks disposed inspaced relation, one of said tracks being hollow, a carriage havingmeans engagingboth tracks,

cutting means carried by the carriage, a pair of guide wheels adjacentthe two ends of the hollow track, a flexible element passing throughsaid hollow track and around said wheels, the ends of said element beingattached to the carriage, and means to impart movement to said elementto adjust the carriage longitudinally upon the tracks. t

7. A machine of the class described com-- prising a wheel supportedframe, a vertical standard rising therefrom, a vertically movablebearing mounted on said standard, a guide carried by the bearing, alever fulcrumed on the frame and lraving anarched end engaging saidguide, and means to actuate said lever to raise and lower the bearing,combined with heading mechanism supported by said bearing. v

8. A machine of'the'class described comprising a wheel supported frame,a pair of vertical standards rising therefrom, a pair of verticallymovable bearings mounted on said standards and each having a guide, arock shaft journaled on the frame, a pair of substantially horizontalarm's pro ecting laterally from said shaft and having arched free endsdisposed beneath said guides, and means to rock said shaft at will,combined with heading mechanism supported by said bearings.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in 'presenceg i of twosubscribing CLAUDE WOODALL.

' witnesses.

Witnesses:

EZRA GASS, JAMES W; WOODALL.

